Defending champion TN storms into SMAT final
Rookie medium pacer Saravana Kumar starred with a fifer as defending champion Tamil Nadu outplayed Hyderabad by eight wickets here on Saturday to sail into the final of the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy 2021-22.
The TN bowlers backed skipper Vijay Shankar’s decision to field first as they bundled out the hitherto unbeaten Hyderabad for 90 in 18.3 overs with only Tanay Thyagarajan (25 off 24 balls) reaching double figures.
Saravana did most of the damage upfront as he accounted for the top-order, including rival captain Tanmay Agarwal (1) and the in-form Tilak Varma (8). He finished with sensational figures of 5 for 21, the second best bowling figures for TN behind left-arm spinner Rahil Shah’s 5 for 12. Hyderabad was tottering at 30 for 5 in 6.2 overs and it soon became 39 for 6 when Ravi Teja was dismissed by M Mohammed for 9. Late resistance by Thyagarajan and Chama Milind (8) helped Hyderabad escape complete humiliation before it folded for 90 in the 19th over.
Thyagarajan hit a huge six off Saravana and followed it up with a boundary before another attempted big shot brought about his downfall. Apart from Saravana, leg-spinner Murugan Ashwin (2/13 from 4 overs) and Mohammed (2/12 from 3 overs) helped keep the Hyderabad batters in check. R Sai Kishore (1/19) took the other wicket.
While chasing, Tamil Nadu lost Narayan Jagadeesan (1) in the third over. His opening partner C Hari Nishaanth (14) also fell in the same over to Rakshann Readdi (2/23). But B Sai Sudharsan (34 not out off 31 balls, 4x4) and captain Vijay Shankar (43 not out off 40 balls, 4x4, 1x6) saw the team home in the 15th over with a 76-run partnership for the unbroken third wicket.
Sudharsan batted fluently and struck a few stylish shots while Vijay Shankar, who started cautiously, began hitting the ball powerfully after getting his eye in. He finished the game by smashing a four and six off Readdi. Tamil Nadu will take on Karnataka in the final after the latter defeated Vidarbha by four runs in the second semi-final.